"There is only one power that determines the course of history . . . the power of ideas." — Ayn Rand

Monday, November 14, 2016

Democrats Will be a Lot Less Disappointed in Trump than They Think

High on the agenda of the new unified Republican government is to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

Yet already, Trump has said he will keep two key features; the mandate to allow parents to keep their children on their policies until age 27, and the mandate banning insurance companies from refusing new policies because of pre-existing conditions.

As to the first, why should the government even be involved in this issue. That should be between insurers and their customers to decide by mutual agreement.

The second—the pre-existing conditions mandate—is the biggie. That’s the mandate that necessitates the individual mandate—the cornerstone of ObamaCare. So repealing two key features of ObamaCare are already off the table. Of course, other changes, such as switching off government policies that created the third-party-payer, or employer-based, insurance—a main cause of the pre-existing conditions problem—would help a lot. We’ll see if we get that.

But, repeal and replace ObamaCare? Maybe in name only. More likely, we’ll get reformed ObamaCare—ObamaCare without Obama. That may be an improvement. The final result will probably be a little more liberty in health insurance, and push back the Left’s drive for what they really want; single-payer.

Don’t get me wrong. The election result was significantly less bad than a Hillary victory and a Democratic Senate. I may have to eat those words if Trump let’s his authoritarian impulse dominate more than I think it will. But I don’t think so, if for no other reason than that Congressional Republicans will resist him. But one thing is obvious: The election result is no unalloyed victory for liberty-leaning government, either.

I’m getting a big kick out of the over-the-top, end-of-the-world reaction of many Democrats and Leftists, including the protestors. I suspect that the Democrats will be a lot less disappointed in the Trump presidency. My prediction is that the Trump, a big spending center-Left welfare statist, will have a lot of differences with the more right-leaning Republican Congress, and I can see him aligning with Democrats a number of times. Though we have a two-party system, Trump is as close to having an Independent in the White house as we’ll ever get. Trump has no real allegiance to either party, and the mixed election results—his win in the Electoral College combined with his loss in the popular vote—only validates his fence-straddling and strengthens his hand as a governing Independent—not a principled Independent, but a pragmatic Independent.

In any event, Trump’s win made it a little easier for Liberty advocates in the short term, in my view. Having Trump in the White House could be beneficial in that freer markets work, and pragmatism is all about what “works”—is expedient—in the here and now. So we may get some of the good policies that our struggling productive citizens need. But in the long term, we still have our work cut out for us. You can’t hold on to, and build upon, free market reforms without the philosophical firepower that free market principles provide. Trump will not reverse the statist trend, longer term. But I think he bought us time

2 comments:

Mike Kevitt
said...

I think Trump's bit of softening, already, is really his attempt to create perceptions in everybody that will give him needed room to do all he has said he wants to do. I'm not sure he's really softening at all, and I don't want him to soften. But, if he can make possible jillions of jobs to open up, he might want to keep the otherwise law abiding illegal immigrants here because there will be more jobs than people, without them, to fill them. Those otherwise non-criminal illegals can fill employers' needs, even regardless of needed skills and qualifications. (?) Is there anything wrong with 0% unemployment?

One area I hope he softens in is trade. That’ll be hard, given that he flipped many “blue” states to “red” on a protectionist agenda. He has some good ideas, such as on corporate tax reform. But any jobs gained from trade restrictions and possibly wars will be dwarfed by the job losses.

I think Trump can go either way, which is why I voted for him. We shouldn’t have to wait long to get an indication. The power of the executive branch has accumulated to the point that the president is almost like a King. That’s why a lot of Obama’s damage was done by executive order. But there’s a silver lining to that, in the short term. Executive orders are a lot easier to reverse than laws. Trump has vowed to rescind a lot of Obama executive orders immediately on taking office. The climate agreement is one. The tax inversion and overtime orders are a couple of others. If he follows through on the promise, it’ll be a good sign.

About Me

Greetings and welcome to my blog. My name is Michael A. (Mike) LaFerrara. I sometimes use the pen or "screen" name "Mike Zemack" or "Zemack" in online activism, such as posted comments on articles. “Zemack” stands for the first letters of the names of my six grandchildren. I was born in 1949 in New Jersey, U.S.A., where I retired from a career in the plumbing, building controls, and construction industries, and still reside with my wife of 45 years. The purpose of my blog is the discussion of a wide range of topics relating to human events from the perspective of Objectivism, the philosophy of reason, rational self-interest, and Americanism originated by Ayn Rand.

As Rand observed: “The professional intellectual is the field agent of the army whose commander-in-chief is the philosopher.” I am certainly not the philosopher. But neither am I a field agent, or general. I am a foot soldier in that Objectivist army that fights for an individualist society in which every person can live in dignified sovereignty, by his own reasoned judgment, for his own sake, in that state of peaceful coexistence with his fellow man that only capitalist political and economic freedom can provide. While I am a fully committed Objectivist, my opinions are based on my own understanding of Objectivism, and should not be taken as definitive “Objectivist positions.” For the full story of my journey toward Objectivism, see my Introduction.

One final introductory note: I strongly recommend Philosophy, Who Needs it, which highlights the inescapable importance of philosophy in every individual's life. I can be reached at mal.atlas@comcast.net. Thanks, Mike LaFerrara.

Recommended Essays/Videos

Quotes I Like

Let me give you a tip on a clue to men’s characters: the man who damns money has obtained it dishonorably; the man who respects it has earned it. Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter.—Francisco d'Anconia

I love getting older...I get to grow up and learn things. Madalyn, 5 years old, Montesorri student, and my grand-daughter

The best thing one can do for the poor is to not become one of them. Author Unknown

Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed. Francis Bacon

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. Ronald Reagan

Thinking is hard work. If it weren't, more people would do it. Henry Ford

Intellectual freedom cannot exist without political freedom; political freedom cannot exist without economic freedom; a free mind and a free market are corollaries. Ayn Rand